It would be easy to dismiss Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings' concert at the Wiltern Saturday night as a mere exercise in nostalgia -- as with the group's new album, I Learned the Hard Way, nothing about their show would have seemed out of place in 1975.

But that would be beside the point. When music -- any music -- is performed with the brio, affection and attention to detail that Jones and the Dap-Kings brought to their exhilaratingly funky two-hour performance here, any arguments about being up-to-date are tossed out the window.

From the moment the nine-piece outfit stepped on stage in dark suits and ties, their most obvious antecedent appeared to James Brown & the JBs. The Dap-Kings (who in addition to backing Jones have recorded with Al Green, Amy Winehouse and Bebel Gilberto) even kick off their performances in typical old-school fashion, taking a few songs to strut their stuff instrumentally.

The rhythm section is taut and swinging, the three-piece horn section (two saxes and a trumpet) adds bumptious punctuation, and the two guitarists play clipped, chicken-scratch riffs. And before Jones makes her entrance, guitarist Binky Griptite plays the MC, ticking off her most popular songs and introducing her as not just “the star of our show” but “the brightest star in the Daptone Universe.”